Dales 30
Personal Journey

Birks Fell

Route Options
Height

610m (2,000ft)

Location

Upper Wharfedale

Neighbours

Yockenthwaite Moor

Height

610m (2,000ft)

Location

Upper Wharfedale

Neighbours

Yockenthwaite Moor

Gallery of Birks Fell

Jonathan at the Trig Point
Jonathan at the Trig Point
Start of the climb
Birks summit trig point
Birks summit trig point
The wall between Trig and Summit
Shepherds Shelter
Shepherds Shelter
The summit cairn
The summit cairn
Completing the Wharfedale 3 Peaks
Completing the Wharfedale 3 Peaks
Upper Wharfedale from Birks
Upper Wharfedale from Birks

Jonathan’s View

"I have a sneaking affection for Birks, the long wide ridge is a perfect place to stride out and enjoy the vast landscape of the central Dales. It is at its best on frozen ground in the winter months but to be honest I have never encountered unpleasant underfoot terrain at any time of the year.

So few people venture to its summit that the main difficulty is not the over eroded paths of the nearby 3 Peaks but actually finding and following them. Most of the paths are through routes from Wharfedale to Littondale with Birks as a bystander. One of these passes close to the trig point but beware, this is not the highest point which is over a mile away. This is the real summit and some faint paths to the cairn are now appearing.

Birks forms a graceful (but long) spur between Upper Wharfedale to the east and Littondale to the south west with Langstrothdale forming the northern barrier. The vast shoulder of Birks stretches north past a tarn to the summit before bending west, over the trig point at Horse Head until it eventually drops in to Ribblesdale north of Pen y Ghent, so uniform in height that Horse Head was until recently deemed the highest point. The entire ridge is over 12 miles long"

Routes up Birks Fell

There is a choice of routes up Birks Fell . They are shown on the map and described below. The GPX file describes my favourite route.

click the image to see a larger version of the mao

My Favourite Route

From Starbotton

Height to Climb

435m (1,430ft)

O/S Explorer Map
Parking

SD 954747 Starbotton

  1. Birks can be climbed from any of the 3 villages in Upper Wharfedale but my favourite is from Starbotton, partly due to the excellent Fox and Hounds pub!
  2. Park in Starbotton and head for the lane leading to the river at the South end of the village.  Cross the River Wharfe at a footbridge, head away from the river bending towards the south. Soon enter the woods and a steep initial climb up the scar that circles most of Birks Fell. On emerging from the woods at a gate turn SW and head directly uphill on a path. From here the path climbs steadily to the shoulder of Birks at 510ms.
  3. There is a wall along the summit ridge of Birks which will accompany the walker from here to the summit, it is a solid wall which can only be crossed at a right of way. Stick to the east side of the wall until it drops sharply to the right after 2 1/4km. A stile passes over the wall to the left and then meets a further wall heading NNW to the trig point.
  4. 3 metres higher and nearly 2km along the ridge is a small cairn to your right just before a 2nd wall is met. This is the highest point of Birks. Return to the main trig point, a return enlightened by Birks Tarn and the ruins of an old building built in to the wall. With the red grouse squawking and the curlews circling it is a pleasant walk
  5. Before reaching the trig point turn left on an initially paved path which heads towards Wharfedale. The soon grassy path drops steeply down hill for nearly 2km until it meets a farm track just before the woods. Turn left and follow the track, soon a tarmacked road to the foot of the valley.
  6. On meeting the main road turn right and walk 300m and take the path to your right just before the bridge over the River Wharfe. Follow this riverside path for 3km to the footbridge leading back to Starbotton.

The wall between Trig and Summit

Alternative Routes

From Litton

Litton. The quickest way to climb Birks is from Litton in Littondale. A bridleway leads directlt to the trig point, dropping near Buckden after it passes the trig point. The highest point of Birks is nearly 2km to the NW.

An alternative descent from here follows the ridge SE from the trig point and picks up the track heading SW directly to Arncliffe in Littondale at the 520ms contour. Return to Litton along the River Skirfare.

From Hubberholme Direct

A more direct assault to the highest point can be made from the hamlet of Hubberholme but this is over rough ground and a relentless grind. More of a challenge which of course can also be a pleasure!

The Dales 30 Book

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Each of the 30 mountains includes the following:

A full description of the Best Route

A personal view of the mountain from the author

High quality, colour photography

A sketch map showing the route & alternatives

Facts and anecdotes about the mountain and the nearby area

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